Pint Sized
by PlagueOfPrague
Summary: Giles has arrived with the newest SIT, but she's a bit different from the others - She's five years old. She takes a liking to Spike, leaving our favorite vamp to play babysitter.
1. The Newest Arrival

"Giles, there has to be some kind of mistake."

"Buffy, I assure you, there is no mistake. She _is a Potential Slayer."_

"But Giles…"

"Buffy, please. I don't have time for this. The girl _is a Potential and she'll need just as much protection as the others, if not more."_

Spike lied there on Buffy's bed, his hands folded behind his head. From the sounds of it, Giles had returned from San Francisco with the newest SIT. Buffy didn't seem too pleased. Glancing at the clock, he sighed. Almost nightfall. Time for another long night of hands-on training with the girls. He sighed.

"What's all the fuss, luv?" He questioned, sauntering into the kitchen. Buffy and Willow halted their conversation and turned to look at him.

Buffy sighed heavily. "Willow, go make sure the girls are ready to go. Tell them me and Spike will be down to get them in a few minutes."

"What about Joey?" The redhead asked.

"She's not going." Buffy said sternly. "It's too risky."

"Right." Willow agreed. "Me and Xand can keep and eye on her while you're gone."

Buffy nodded, watching as her friend headed out of the kitchen.

"I take it Joey is our newest recruit?" Spike asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah…" Buffy mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

He gave her a confused look. "S'wrong?"

She looked up at him, seeming aggravated. "Come here."

He continued to look confused as he followed her towards the basement stairs. She opened the door and began to descend down the steps. He followed, something telling him that this new girl was a bit different from the others.

"Go upstairs. Me and Spike'll be up in a minute." The Slayer said in a commanding tone. The mob of girls occupying her basement filed up the stairs, talking and giggling between themselves. They all greeted Spike as they walked past, a couple making ooglie-eyes at him.

"Where is she?" Buffy asked.

Willow, who was standing near the wall, nodded towards the corner. "She's still crying."

Spike and Buffy both turned and looked in the direction she had indicated.

Spike's eyes went wide. "You've got to be kiddin' me…"

Buffy's features remained grim. "That's what I said."

Sitting in the corner of the basement on top of a small pile of mats, there was a small girl, no older than five or six years old. She stared at them through a mess of long brown hair, her green eyes shimmering with tears.

"Spike, this is Joey." Buffy said flatly.

"There is no way that little thing is a Slayer." Spike said, pointing at the girl.

"Potential." Willow corrected.

"You know what I mean, Red. She's too damn small to be a threat to anything, let alone the bloody First."

"Tell me about it." Buffy grumbled. She sighed heavily. "Come on, we should go. I don't want to be out too late tonight, I have to work in the morning."

Spike nodded, looking back over his shoulder at the girl as he made his way towards the steps. Willow was trying to coax her out of the corner.

"Okay, we're just going to do couple rounds of the two major cemeteries tonight. Me and Spike will be there to watch, but you'll be doing the fighting." Buffy said simply, her eyes scanning over the girls scattered about the living room. There were eight of them now: Chloe, Vi, Molly, Kennedy, Rona, Amanda, and the two newest girls, a sixteen year old Vietnamese girl named Chao-Ahn and a fourteen year old French girl named Vallerie. 

Chao didn't speak much English, but Spike and Giles had been able to guide her through most of the happenings with the slight bit of Vietnamese they could speak between them. Giles was a bit more helpful in this area, seeing as the only phrases Spike knew other than "Hello", "My name is…", and "Are you hungry?" were equivalents of "Fuck you!" and "I'm going to kill you now." Surprisingly, the girl had taken a liking to him and tended to stick closer to him on patrols. She had also added to his repertoire of foreign curses, much to Buffy's dislike.

"Buffy?"

The girls all turned their attention to Wilow as she walked into the room.

"Yeah Will?"

"She won't come out of the basement." The redhead informed her.

Buffy sighed. She didn't much like the idea of leaving the girl sitting in the basement alone all night. "I'll be down in a minute."

"I'll get it, luv." Spike said, walking towards Willow. "Just make sure they're ready to go when I get back."

"Thanks Spike." The Slayer said, giving him a small smile as he disappeared from view.

Spike sauntered down the stairs, his boots clomping loudly on the wood. When he reached the bottom, he took note that she was still huddled where she had been earlier.

"C'mon now kitten, time to go upstairs." He said, walking towards her.

She narrowed her eyes and slinked further into the corner. 

Spike sighed. "Look, you're scared, I get that. Hell, I'd be messin' my drawers if I were you, but you can't just hide down 'ere forever."

"Leave me alone." She grumbled.

He chuckled. "So that's how you're playin' 'ey?" He questioned, squatting down in front of her. "Name's Joey, right?"

"Yes…" She pouted.

"M'Spike."

"So?"

He chuckled again. "You're a nasty little thing, aren't you?"

"I wanna go home." She pouted.

He sighed. "Sorry pet, can't do that. S'not safe. You're gonna have to stay here for awhile where we can keep an eye on you."

She remained silent.

"C'mon, you can go watch some cartoons or somethin'." He said, offering her his hand. She hesitated, but then slipped her hand into his, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "That a girl."

TBC…

A/N: I'm just playing around with an idea I had. M'hopin' everyone else finds it as amusing as I do. Spike's so cute wif little kids. :D Review!!


	2. Bedtime and Naughty Cartoons

"You guys did good. Chloe, make sure you put some ice on your wrist before you go to bed." Buffy said, ushering the girls back into the house. Spike followed behind her, closing the door.

"I'm getting too old for this…" She grumbled, flopping back onto the couch.

Spike chuckled, falling into the seat beside her. "_You're_ too old?"

She looked over at him, smirking.

"Hey Buff." Xander greeted, walking in from the dining room. "How'd it go?"

"Splendid." She said sarcastically.

Xander smiled. "They'll get better, Buff. They got the best teacher in the world."

"Honestly, Harris, didn't think you thought so fondly of me." Spike said. Buffy punched him in the arm, smirking.

"Where's Willow?" Buffy asked, looking back up at Xander.

"Upstairs with Dawn and Joey. They managed to dig some of Dawn's old toys out of the attic. Dawn's room has become Barbie Central."

"Yay." Buffy said, sighing.

"So what's the plan?" He asked, tucking his hands into his pockets. "With Joey, I mean. She's too small to train, so what? We just gonna play babysitter until this is over?"

"Gonna have to." Buffy said. "Those things are after her just like the others."

"And the poor tike's less able to protect 'erself." Spike added.

Buffy sighed again, then climbed to her feet. "It's late, we should all get some sleep. Xander, you heading home?"

"Yeah, Anya, Giles, and Andrew are staying at my place tonight. I think the mob of teenage girls is slowly driving them insane."

Buffy smiled. "Wish I could join you. You staying up, Spike?"

"Slept all day, didn't I?" He asked.

She smiled. "Do me a favor and make sure the girls actually sleep tonight. They spent most of last night gossiping."

"'bout what?"

"Xander and you." She said matter-of-factly. "You _are_ the only two guys in the house… other than Giles."

"Eww." Xander said, his face scrunching up.

"Exactly." Buffy said. "Be careful on your way home, alright?"

"Always am." Xander said, heading towards the door. "Tell Willow and Dawn I said bye."

Buffy nodded as he walked out the door.

"So where you stickin' the Bit for the night?" Spike asked.

"Joey? God, I don't know." Buffy muttered, running her hand through her hair. "Can't stick her in the basement with the other girls. I don't want her in a sleeping bag on a cold cement floor." She sighed. "I'll probably just stick her in my bed and I'll crash on the floor."

"Why don't you stick 'er on the couch? I can keep and eye on 'er down 'ere." He suggested. "'sides, you'll just wake 'er up in the mornin' when you leave for work."

"You sure?"

"'course. Now go get some sleep. I'll fetch the Pint-Size."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Don't sweat it." He said, following her up the stairs. Buffy knocked lightly on Dawn's door, then pushed it open. They were greeted by a flood of Barbies. Dawn and Joey were seated in the center of the mess, and Willow was seated on the bed.

"Hey." Dawn said, smiling.

"Bedtime." Buffy said. "You got school in the morning."

"But-"

"No but's. Bed. Now." Buffy stated. "Joey, you're gonna go sleep downstairs, alright?"

The girl looked up at Willow, as if making sure it was okay.

"Come on, sweety. I'll take you downstairs." Willow said, standing. Joey followed suit, taking the redhead's hand and following her out into the hall. "Night Dawn."

"Goodnight." Joey called, waving over her shoulder.

"She seems far less scampy than she was earlier." Spike noted.

"Yeah." Dawn said, pushing Willow's Barbies off of her bed. "Once me and Willow told her we had toys she wouldn't shut up."

Buffy nodded and smiled. "Goodnight."

"'night, Bit." Spike said, following Buffy back out into the hall.

"Here, I'll get you some blankets and stuff to take downstairs." The Slayer said, walking across the hall and into her room. Spike followed after her, taking a seat on her bed as she rummaged through her closet. She pulled a large quilt out, handed it to him, and grabbed a pillow from her bed. "And no bedtime stories." She warned, giving him a playful glare.

"Who me?" He asked innocently. "Why would I tell the poor girl ghost stories right 'fore bed? Do I look like some kinda monster?"

She smirked and pushed him out the door.

Joey looked up from her seat on the couch as he walked downstairs, pillow and blanket in hand. "Where'd Red get to?" He asked, setting the bedding down next to the girl.

"The kitchen." She answered, her eyes following his every move.

"For what?"

"I'm thirsty." She said simply.

He smirked. "Already got everyone tending to your every whim, 'ey?"

She just stared at him.

"Here ya go, cutey." Willow said, handing the girl a glass of water as she walked back into the room.

"Thank you." The girl said, sipping at the glass.

"I'll see you in the morning, kay?"

Joey nodded. "Night."

"Sleep tight." Willow said, smiling at the girl.

"Night Red." Spike offered as the girl walked away. He turned back to Joey, who was staring at him expectantly. "You done?"

She nodded, holding out the glass to him. He rolled his eyes and took it, placing it on the coffee table. "Right then, scootch for a minute so we can make the couch a bit more bed-like, 'ey?"

"You talk funny." She stated, standing.

"Gee, thanks luv." He said, tossing the pillow on the one end of the couch. He unfolded the quilt. "Right, up ya go. Bedtime."

"I can't."

"Can't?" He questioned. "Can't what?"

"I can't go to bed." She said.

"And why not?"

"I don't have any 'jamas."

"Jamas?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"I can't sleep in my jeans." She said, her voice implying that he was rather stupid for thinking she could.

"Oh, uhm… well. Wait here a tick, I'll see what I can do." He said, tossing the blanket back onto the couch. She stared at him as he disappeared down the hallway.

"You lot are supposed to be asleep." He stated, marching down the basement steps.

"We're not tired." Molly said.

"Besides, it's not like we're doin' anythin' tomorrow anyway." Vi added.

"Rumor has it Red, Harris, and Anya are takin' you on a little field trip tomorrow." He said, walking over them.

"Field trip?" Vallerie questioned.

"Where to?" Kennedy asked.

"Mall." He said simply. "But you didn't hear it from me, 'right?"

They all nodded and giggled.

"Right then. Now do any of you lot know what a little girl's 'sposed to wear to bed?" He asked, looking around.

"Pajamas." Chloe said.

"I _know_ that." He said, eyeing her as he dug through a box in the corner. "What kind of pajamas?"

"Oh! I used to have these little pink ones with stars all over 'em when I was Joey's age!" Molly said.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Sorry, pet. Not quite my style."

"Just give her a big t-shirt." Kennedy suggested. "That'll work."

"You sure?" He asked.

"S'what I used to do." Vallerie said.

Spike nodded and pulled one of his black tees from the box. "It'll have to do." He said, standing. "Now go to sleep. Slayer'll have my hide if you're up all night." He said, walking back towards the stairs, careful not to step on any of the sleeping bags.

There was a chorus of  'Night Spikes' as he headed back up stairs. Walking back into the living room, he found Joey in the same place he had left her. He tossed the shirt at her. "There. Pajamas. Now go to sleep."

"I'm still thirsty."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Last time." He snatched the glass from the table and headed towards the kitchen. When he returned, she was snuggled up under the blanket on the couch, her clothes discarded on the floor. "Here." He said, handing her the glass.

She sat up, taking it from him. Even though it was short-sleeved, the sleeves of his shirt went well past the girl's elbows. She handed the glass back to him. "Thank you."

"Yep." He said, setting the glass back on the table. "Now get some shut eye."

"Are you going to sleep?" She asked, watching as he sat down on the other end of the couch.

"In a little bit." He lied, grabbing the remote.

"How come?"

"I'm not tired."

"I'm not tired either." She said.

"Course you are." He said, flipping through channels.

"Uh-uh." She argued. "Can we watch cartoons?"

"No." He said, setting the remote on the arm of the couch. He reached over and grabbed the girl under her arms and layed her back down. "Now sleep."

"I don't wanna."

"Sucks to be you." He said.

She pouted. "You're mean."

"Most vampires are." He agreed.

"What?"

"Nothin'. Go to bed."

"You're a vampire?"

"Uh… no."

"I seen a vampire once." She said, sitting back up. "He had pointy teeth."

"No such thing as vampires." He stated.

"Yes there are." She argued. "I sawed one!"

"Look, kitten. It's late. Would you just go to sleep already?" He asked impatiently, looking at her.

She scowled. "I ain't tired."

Spike groaned. "Alright, if I let you watch one bloody show will you go to sleep?"

"Okay."

"Promise?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Uh-huh."

"Fine." He grumbled, flipping through the channels until he found a cartoon. He shrugged, not expecting to have found anything on this late at night.

"What's this?" Joey asked, screwing her face up.

"Damned if I know." He said, picking up the TV Guide. "Uh… s'called 'South Park'. Ever hear of it?"

"No." She said honestly, watching the screen.

Spike shrugged, watching the cartoon children on the television. They began to talk and he nearly fell out of his seat trying to change the channel. After dropping the remote, he scrambled across the floor and flicked the TV off. "What the hell was that?" he asked, looking back at her.

"What does 'Donkey-Raper' mean?" she asked curiously.

"Right. No more telly." He said, looking over at her. "You like hot chocolate?"

-----

Buffy screwed her face up as she walked into the kitchen. Evidently, Spike didn't understand the concept of 'make sure the girl gets some sleep'. The counter tops were littered with empty packets of hot chocolate, coffee mugs, the box from some macaroni and cheese, and an empty packet of blood.

"Woah. Who went binging?" Dawn asked, walking into the room.

"Spike and Joey." Buffy said, shoving the garbage into the trashcan. She made a face when a bit of the blood from the packet got on her hand. She walked over to the sink and began to scrub at it. "You ready to leave?" She asked, looking over at her sister.

"Yep." The  teen said, grabbing a granola bar from the cupboard. "I'll meet you out in the car."

"Yep." The slayer said, shaking her hand dry. "Be out in a minute." She turned and headed towards the living room. Joey was curled up on one end of the couch, sleeping soundly under the quilt, and Spike was sitting at the other end, dozing.

"Hey." She nudged his shoulder, smirking. "Sleepy head."

"Huh… what?" He blinked, sitting up.

"Nice mess you left in the kitchen." She said.

"Midnight snack." He said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well clean up after yourself next time. She's five, not you." Buffy said, nodding at Joey.

He chuckled. "Gotcha, luv."

"Good." She said. "I gotta get to work. You can head upstairs if you want, bed's free."

"Thanks, sweets." He said, watching as she headed towards the door. "Have a good day."

"I'll try." She said. "Bye."

"Bye."

Spike sighed, looking down at the girl snoozing next to him. Yawning, he stood, scooping her into his arms and heading upstairs. The SIT's would be awake soon, and there was no way she would remain asleep once they swarmed the living room.

Pushing the door to Buffy's room open, he deposited the girl on the bed, pulling the comforter over her small form. She made a soft noise, but didn't wake up. He rolled his eyes, walking back into the hall and closing the door.

As suspected, when he got back downstairs the SIT's had already began to make their way upstairs. Molly and Chao-Ahn were in the kitchen, spreading butter on some bagels.

"Mornin' girls." He said, walking over to the fridge.

"Morning Spike." They said in unison.

"Sleep good?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at them as he pulled out a packet of blood.

They exchanged small smiles.

"S'what I thought." He said, ripping it open and pouring the contents into a mug. "Just don't go complainin' 'bout bein' tired later. Don't much feel like getting' an earful from you-know-who."

"Don't worry, Spike. We'll stick it out." Molly said with a smile.

"Good girl." He said, walking back towards the living room, blood in tow. Kennedy, Rona, and Chloe had already taken over the couch.

"Hey Spike."

"Mornin' Spike."

"Hi Spike."

He arched an eyebrow at them before taking a seat on the floor. "Mornin'."

"Hey guys." Willow greeted, descending down the stairs. "Sleep good?"

"'course they did." Spike answered, grinning.

Chloe giggled. "Yeah. We slept fine."

Willow smirked. "Where's Joey?"

"Stuck her up in Buffy's room." Spike said, finishing off his breakfast.

Willow nodded. "She'll probably be out for awhile."

"What makes you say that?" He questioned.

"Spike. You're hardly the quietest person ever. I could here you two down here goofing off all night." She said with a smile.

"Were not." He argued.

"Were to." She said. "You didn't shut up until like, three."

"Two-thirty." He corrected. "And it's not my fault. She wouldn't go to sleep."

Willow rolled her eyes and headed for the kitchen. The three girls on the couch smirked at him.

"I come bearing doughnuts." Xander declared, walking in the front door. He held four dozen sized boxes of doughnuts in his hands. Andrew and Anya followed behind him. Andrew was pouting.

"I don't see why I had to be tied up." He whined. "My wrists hurt."

"Because I don't like you." Xander said informatively. "Now put these in the kitchen." He ordered, shoving the boxes into his arms.

"I hate this…" Andrew whined, obediently heading towards the kitchen.

"So, where's everyone?" He asked, walking into the living room.

"Willow, Chao, and Molly are in the kitchen, Amanda, Vi, and Vallerie are still downstairs, Joey's in Buffy's room, Buffy and Dawn left already, and uh… s'that everyone?" Spike thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, think that's it." He was quiet for a minute. "Bloody hell that's a lot of people."

"Tell me about it." Xander stated. "And for once, I'm glad to have you around. There's way too many girls running around this house."

Spike counted to himself. "Four guys, thirteen girls. I'd say we're at a slight disadvantage."

"That many?" Xander asked incredulously.

"Nine SIT's, Dawn, Red, Anya, and the Slayer." Spike said, standing up. "That makes thirteen."

"Then there's me, you, Giles, and Andrew." Xander said. "Go us."

Spike smirked, walking back into the kitchen.

TBC…

A/N: Me = Bored!! Ack. I'll prolly finish another chap by the end of the night. Go me! I'm gonna keep writing this no matter what, I'm having fun with the Spike/Joey interaction, but reviews would be appreciated. Let me know what you think, and I'm open to any suggestions.


	3. Awash in a Sea of Barbies

"Where'd everybody go?"

Spike looked up from where he had been lying on the couch. Joey stepped down off the bottom step and walked towards him, rubbing at her eyes sleepily. "Buncha places, kitten. School, work, mall, they're all over the place. Jus' me an' you 'ere for now."

"I'm hungry."

"Straight to the point, 'ey?" He asked, smirking as he sat up. He was glad to see she had found the clothes Willow had washed folded at the end of the bed and had taken the incentive to dress herself. He really didn't want to go through the whole 'dressing a little girl' ordeal. "C'mon. I'd getcha some cereal, but it's like, lunchtime. You like Spaghetti O's?"

She nodded, trailing after him as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Good, 'cause Uncle Spikey don't feel like makin' anything more complex." He said, grabbing a can from the cupboard. Joey watched with mild interest as he fought with the can-opener. Ten minutes later, he had the can open and had deposited it's contents into a bowl and shoved it into the microwave. Hr turned and narrowed his eyes at her. "No more canned food, got it?"

She giggled.

He made an attempt to clean up the kitchen as she ate. The eight SIT's had easily dismantled the place in the brief time they had been awake. It had been concluded that doughnuts were bad, seeing as they only caused arguments over who got the jelly-filled and resulted in powdered sugar in every corner imaginable.

"S'that juice?"

Spike looked up from the sink as Joey spoke. "What's that?"

"Is that juice?" She asked again, pointing at the glass of blood Spike had sitting on the counter.

"Uh… yeah?"

"Can I have some?"

Spike made a face. "That's the last of it, pet. I'll go out and get some more later, okay?"

"Can I have some of yours?"

Spike was silent for a moment. He stared at the glass. "Actually, luv. I don't think this juice is any good. Tastes bad, see?" He took a long gulp, made a face for show, then proceeded to pour the rest down the sink.

"Oh."

"You like pop?"

"What kind?"

"The stuff in the cans." He said with a shrug. "I think there's some root beer in here somewhere…" he muttered, digging through the fridge. "Yep, see?" He popped the can open, handing it to the girl. "You done?"

She nodded, pushing her bowl towards him.

He took it and deposited it in the sink along with the rest of the morning's dirty dishes, then took up scrubbing again.

"Can we go to the park?"

He chuckled. "Sorry kiddo. Bit too bright outside for my standards. Nibblet can take you when she gets home from school though, 'right?"

"Okay."

"Why don't you go watch TV or something?"

"I don't want to."

He snorted. "You through that big fit 'bout watchin' the telly last night and now you don't wanna?"

"Nope."

He rolled his eyes. "Go play with them dolls Dawn fished out for you then."

"Will you play with me?"

He laughed. "You want me to play with a bunch of soddin' dolls?"

She nodded.

"Sorry kitten, but there's no bloody way."

-----

"_That_ was a day from Hell." Buffy grumbled, closing the door as her and her sister walked in.

"You know, we could always just, you know, **not** go to school." Dawn suggested, tossing her book bag on the floor.

"Funny." Buffy said, giving her sister a smirk. She peered over her should and into the living room. "Huh. Wonder where Spike and Joey are…"

Dawn shrugged. "I dunno…"

"There was a loud giggling from upstairs. Buffy and Dawn exchanged quick smirks, then took off up the stairs.

Silently, Dawn pushed the door to her room open.

"Oh. My. God." Buffy put a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. 

Dawn didn't have that courtesy. She cracked up.

Spike glared at them from he sit in the middle of the room. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up…"

"We're playin' Barbies!" Joey declared, hopping off the bed.

"I see that." Buffy said, an amused look on her face.

"Wanna play?" She asked, offering the Slayer a brunette doll in a frilly pink dress.

"Maybe later."

"Oh." Joey said, looking slightly disappointed.

"Oh come on, Slayer. You know you wanna play." Spike said, tossing her a naked Ken doll. She caught it and glared playfully at him.

"_Please_?" Joey begged, sticking her lip out as far as it would go.

"We'll play." Dawn said, grabbing her sister by the arm and dragging her into the room.

Buffy groaned. "Fine, but only until the others get back. We still have evil things to deal with." She said defeatedly, plopping down on the bed.

"Here, you can be this one." Joey said, handing the Slayer another naked Barbie.

Buffy looked down at the two dolls she now held, making a face. "Do they get clothes?"

"Nope." Spike answered. "You're sittin' in the nudist beach. They _can't_ have clothes."

Buffy's eyes went wide. Dawn giggled. "Spike! You **do not** have a nudist beach when you're playing Barbies with a five year old!"

"Says who?" He asked.

"Every mother on the face of the planet!" The Slayer said, chucking her Barbie at him. 

He swatted it away and grinned. "Oh, right Slayer. What's worse? Me tellin' the girl what a nude beach is or you teachin' her to throw things at people?"

"You know what? No more Barbies for you, Spike." Buffy said, grabbing him by his arm and hauling him to his feet.

"Hey!" Joey protested, stomping her foot. "We're playing!"

"Calm down, kitten." Spike said, grinning. "She's just a party pooper. We can play again later, alright? Why don't you have Dawn take you outside for a bit."

The girl continued to stand there for a minute, pouting, but finally gave in. "Okay…"

"Come on." Dawn said, leading her out into the hallway. She smirked as she looked back over her shoulder.

"I can't believe you told her that!" Buffy said, smacking him in the side of the head.

"Ow!" He whined. "Hell, Slayer. You threw a bloody Barbie at me!"

"It was a Ken doll, Spike." She said in a serious tone, her hands on her hips.

He stared at her for a minute. She stared back.

They both cracked up.

TBC…

A/N: Okay, short chapter. But it was fun. I swear this will have a plot eventually and will stop being mindless fluff. **I swear**. Anywho, keep reviewing. I like knowin' that I'm not the only one who finds overly cute stuff amusing.


	4. Hide n Seek

A/N: sorry it took so long, I wasn't sure where to go from there. But I was stuck at work for an obscene amount of time today and was bored so I had time to think. So, two warnings for you. 1.) The fluffyness has come to an end. Time for actual plot. 2.) The following contains spoilers and rumors about upcoming episodes. Not all of it, but there are tidbits and I won't be specific about which parts, but they're there. They're not exactly how they're played out in the show either, I just worked them in to give it more a realistic feel. Yep. Keep the reviews coming!!

-----

"What are they doing?" Joey questioned, peering out the kitchen window from her seat atop the counter.

"Nothin'." Spike said simply, not looking up from the stove.

"They have to be doin' _something_." She said in a stubborn tone, looking over at him.

He sighed, setting the grilled cheese he had just made on the table. He peered out the window, careful to avoid the streams of sunlight. There were seventeen girls in the backyard, all moving in sync as Kennedy led them through a series of kicks and punches. It looked like a martial arts class.

"Well?" She asked, staring at him.

"Don't worry 'bout it." He said, taking his gaze away. He picked her up easily and deposited her on the stool in front of her food. "Now eat your lunch." 

"But I wanna go outside too." She whined.

"Finish your food first."

"I'm not hungry."

"You were twenty minutes ago." He pointed out, smirking at her.

"Fine." She said, giving in, although she didn't do it without a hefty amount of pouting. "But can I go play after I'm done?"

"We'll see, kitten." He said, walking towards the living room. They were the only two in the house at the moment. Anya and Giles had headed off to East Germany to recover another potential while Willow and Xander had shipped off to Ireland for another. Dawn and Buffy were at school and Andrew was staying at Xander's place while he was gone, the overwhelming presence of nearly twenty teen girls having almost driven him mad. He glanced at the clock as he grabbed an old book from the table. Buffy and Dawn would be home any time now.

"I'm done."

He turned to see Joey standing in the doorway, an empty plate in hand. "Ate that pretty fast for someone who wasn't hungry five minutes ago."

She gave him an impish smile. "Can I go outside now?"

He sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, but remember the rules. Stay in the backyard and don't get in the girls' way. 'right?"

She nodded.

"Go throw your plate in the sink then." He said, following after her as she scurried off towards the kitchen. She had just ripped the door open as he walked in, slamming it loudly behind her as she hopped out onto the porch. He watched from the corner of the window as she stood on the top step for a few minutes, watching curiously as the girls continued with their drills.

"What's wrong?"

Spike turned, startled as Buffy walked into the kitchen. "What? Oh, nothin'."

The Slayer walked up beside him, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched. "It's sad, isn't it…"

"What is?"

"Most of them are going to die soon." She said flatly.

"Yeah." He agreed, returning his eyes to the girls.

"There's so many of them."

"Two more on the way." Spike reminded her. "When are the other due back, anyway?"

"Willow and Xander should be back in three or four days, and Giles and Anya are due back any time now." She replied.

Spike nodded, looking down a bit.

"Spike."

"Hm?" He replied, looking back up at her. She nodded towards the window, her hand covering her mouth. His eyes shot up and his stomach fell.

Joey was standing at the edge of the group, attempting to follow along, swinging and kicking with the others.

They both stared, then after a moment, Buffy spoke up. "We should go see if we can find anything else…"

"Yeah." Spike said numbly, turning and following her towards the livingroom.

-----

"Spike!"

Buffy and Spike both looked up from the couch as Joey came running into the living room, her eyes wide.

"S'wrong kitten?" Spike asked, closing the book he had been flipping through.

"They're yelling a lot." She said, covering her ears.

"The girls." Buffy said, standing and tossing her book to the floor as she marched towards the kitchen.

"What the hell's going on?!" The Slayer demanded, crashing through the back door and onto the porch. Silence fell over the screaming group and they all stared at her. Chloe hiccupped. She was crying. "What. Happened." She ground out, glaring at them.

There was a brief silence, then Kennedy spoke up. Her voice wavering. "I was just trying to get them to keep up. They were falling behind in the drills and I told them they were just slow and weak and if they didn't try harder…"

"And you think you're better?" Buffy offered, smirking at the girl. Kennedy looked hurt. "Well, let me tell you something." The Slayer said, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked down the stairs. "You all fail to realize something. You're ignorant. You're dumb. You're weak. Not a single one of you is ready to take on anything bigger than a housefly. You'll all die. Some of you sooner than others, but you'll all die. Look around you. You see the girl standing beside you? Remember her face, because sooner or later she's going to be the one fighting to save you or she's going to be dead."

The girls remained silent, staring at her.

"You have had it easy." Buffy said coldly. "These drills? These patrols? They're _nothing_. You have no idea what we're up against. I've been carrying you all this far, but guess what?" She stopped pacing, her cold eyes drifting over them. "Ride's over." She said simply. "Now you have a choice. Tough it up and start carrying your own around here. Or leave. And die." She paused again, looking them over. "Your choice." She finished, turning and marching back up the stairs. She slammed the door behind her.

"What was she talkin' 'bout?" Joey whispered as Buffy went back into the livingroom.

"Don't worry 'bout it…" Spike said, giving her a slight nudge in the direction Buffy had gone. "You can watch the telly for a bit…"

-----

"Why can't I come?!" Joey whined, trying desperately to pull away from Dawn's hold.

"We're not gonna be gone long, pet." Spike said, pulling on his jacket. "Just stay here with Dawn and the others for a bit."

"But I don't wanna!!" She wailed.

"Spike, we have to go." Buffy said, ushering the girls out the front door. They had been rotating SIT's, taking six or seven on patrol a night.

"Comin' pet." He said, crouching down in front of Joey. "Make you a deal. You stay here and be a good girl and I'll bring you a little treat back, alright?"

Joey sniffled, running her sleeve under her nose. "Please?"

"Sorry kitten." He said, brushing her wet hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "No can do. Just do me a favor and stay 'ere. We won't be gone long."

She continued to sniffle, but didn't say anything.

He gave her a small smile, ruffled her hair, then stood. "Call if anythin's wrong, Nibblet."

"I know." The girl said. "Be careful."

He gave her a small nod, then went out the door after the Slayer.

Joey began to cry once more.

"No. No, no, no, no." Dawn said, crouching down beside her. The numerous SIT's in the living room stared at them. "What's wrong? Oh! I got an idea. How about we play a game? We can play hide 'n seek again. And this time there's lotsa people, not just me and Spike." She said, motioning to the girls in the other room. "It'll be fun."

Joey looked at them then wiped at her eyes. "Okay…"

-----

Spike yawned, leaning back against the side of a small crypt. He had been here nearly an hour and the two girls searching for him had yet to stumble across his little hiding spot, which in reality, wasn't much of a hiding spot at all. He sighed. "Would'a thought you'd do a bit better than this, Chloe…" He mumbled, leaning to the side and looking around the corner. He had given up on memorizing everyone's names and only knew the name's of the first couple handfuls that had arrived at the house. Chloe and some little redhead were supposed to be finding him, but apparently they weren't having much luck.

"Boo!"

Spike jumped a bit, startled by the high pitch shout. "Joey?!" His eyes went wide. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" He yelled, jumping to his feet.

Her eyes went wide. "I…I just wanted to come…." She whimpered, her eyes leaving his face and darting around the dart cemetery. "I missed you…"

He relaxed a bit, feeling a bit guilty for having yelled. "Sorry, luv. It's just… it's not safe outside at night." He said in a softer tone, crouching down so he was eye level with her. "How'd you get here, anyway?"

"I walked."

"Where's Dawn and the others?"

She giggled at his question.

"What's so funny?" He asked, quirking a suspicious eyebrow at her.

She walked up to him and cupped her small hand around his ear, then leaned forward and whispered something.

"They're huntin' the house for you?!" He asked in surprise. "You were playin' hide 'n seek and you took off?"

She nodded a bit warily, afraid he would yell again.

He sighed, running a hand over his face. "Let's go find the others. Buffy has the phone on her so we call and let them know you're safe." He stopped for a minute, then looked back down at her. "How'd you know where we were, anyway?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, I just…"

A loud scream echoed through the air.

Spike bristled. "Change of plan, kitten." He said, snatching the girl up and tucking her under his arm. He broke the lock off the door to the crypt and set her inside. She looked around, her eyes wide. "Stay here." He said firmly.

"It's scarey!" She shouted, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'll be back." He said, pulling his jacket off. He wrapped it around her shoulders and pointed towards the corner. "Go sit down and keep quiet. I won't be gone long. Just stay here." He said firmly, plopping her down on the floor. "I'll be back." He assured her once more, closing the door. He looked around for a moment, then walked up to the small metal fence surrounding the cemetery and pulled a bar from it. He thrust it through the door handles of the crypt and strained to twist it, locking the girl inside.

Then he bolted.

"Behind you!" Buffy shouted, slicing through another Bringer's stomach as he swung at her. Chloe ducked just in time to avoid a blow to the head. Two of the SIT's screamed as a group of the eyeless demons surrounded them. They huddled together as they approached, knives drawn.

"Miss me?" Spike asked, smirking as he smashed two of the creatures' heads together and snapped the necks of two more. The girls looked up at him through tear filled eyes. They looked horrified.

They'd be some of the first to die.

Spike shook the thought from his head and refocused his attention at the enormous amount of Bringers swarming around them. Buffy was having a hell of a time fending them off on her own, and the SIT's seemed completely petrified and did little but dodge them.

"About time you showed up." Buffy said, gritting her teeth as she drove one of the Bringer's knives back through it's stomach.

"Fashionably late, luv." Spike said, plunging a stake into another's side. Two more down. Three. Five. Nine.

Buffy wiped a small stream of blood from her mouth as she looked up. "Where'd the rest go?"

Spike swallowed, his eyes staring in the direction they had taken off in. "Scared 'em off?" He offered.

Buffy shook her head. "Is everyone alright?" She asked, turning back to the group of scared girls. They nodded sullenly.

She nodded again, then turned back to Spike. "We should head back to…."

A high pitch scream rang through the air.

Spike's stomach dropped.

"No…" He said in disbelief. An instant later, he was darting back in the direction he had come, Buffy tearing after him. They easily hurdled over the tombstones in their paths, but the SIT's trailing behind them had a much harder time weaving between them.

Spike pushed a tree branch out of the way as he dashed back towards the crypt he had left Joey in. He felt his chest tighten when he saw that the doors were open. He ran faster.

"Spike! What's…" Buffy froze, her eyes widening as she stopped behind him in the doorway of the crypt. They were both silent.

"Buffy! Spike! Wait for us!" The redheaded SIT called as she came panting into the clearing, the others tailing behind her.

"Oh God…" Chloe squeaked, her hand covering her mouth as she looked past them and into the crypt.

The structure was coated in blood, and in the center of the mess was Spike's torn, tattered jacket…

TBC…

A/N Did I not say the fluffyness was over? Didn't I?! Ack. Actual plot. I'll try and post again tomorrow sometime. Don't wanna leave you hanging too long. ^_^ keep reviewing!!


	5. The Sweet Smell of Blood

Buffy surveyed the group sitting in front of her. There were seventeen Slayers in training scattered about the living room and Dawn and Spike were occupying the couch. Giles and Anya were on their way back from the airport with the newest Slayerette, but the others were too antsy for her to hold off telling them what had happened any longer.

"Chloe, are you okay?" She asked, looking at the girl sitting on the floor in front of the couch. She had her legs pulled up to her chest and her face was streaked with tears. She nodded numbly, not looking up. Buffy sighed. Chloe had been the first to catch up with them in the cemetery and had seen the dismal scene in the crypt before her and Spike had time to get the doors closed to prevent just that from happening.

"Buffy, what was in there?" Asked a redheaded Irish girl who had been on patrol with them. When her and the others had shown up, Buffy and Spike had both been rather pale faced and Chloe was vomiting in a nearby bush. They hadn't seen inside the crypt.

Buffy looked over at Spike, who was sitting on the couch. He was staring back at her and she took note of how red his eyes were. She looked back at the girls who were all staring expectantly. They knew it had something to do with Joey and they all knew they weren't going to like what they heard, but somewhere in the back of their minds their was that faint glimmer of hope that it wasn't as bad as they had thought.

"It's my fault…" Dawn mumbled, looking at her sister through watery eyes. She had been the only one Buffy had informed of the incident. "It was my idea to play and when she disappeared we thought…"

"Dawn, not now." The Slayer said. Dawn quieted, looking a bit taken aback. She looked to Spike. He nodded slightly before returning his focus to Buffy. The room fell silent and everyone stared at her. After a few moments, she spoke. "Joey's dead."

Buffy and Spike both closed their eyes as the girls expressed their shock. They were talking loudly and a few of them were crying. Buffy could hear them arguing over who's fault it was, and most of them were now standing, screaming at one another. The arguments quickly went from whose fault it was to who was next and who among them was the weakest. The next thing Buffy knew, there were twenty different arguments going on around her, not a single one about the little girl who had disappeared from their midst.

"Girls."

She looked up when she heard Spike's voice. He was standing. 

"Girls." He tried again, looking around at them. They went on arguing. "Would you shut the bloody hell up?!" He yelled, glaring. Chloe jumped and looked up from where she had been sitting. She was the only one who had remained quiet. Spike clenched his jaw and stared back coldly at the now silent SIT's. "If you lot don't learn how to get along you're all going to ended up in bloody, mutilated little pieces just like she did."

Chloe's eyes went wide and the next thing everyone knew, she had dashed upstairs towards the bathroom once more.

Spike turned his eyes from the steps back to the girls. "You have no idea what's out there. None of you. You have no idea how many things would like to wring the blood from your bodies, drop by drop, until there's nothin' left of you 'cept for a heap of twisted bones wrapped in dry skin. And don't look at me like that. I'm _not_ kidding. Believe, me. I should know. I am one of those monsters."

"You…. you did _that_?" A girl with long black hair questioned.

"Worse." He said, still glaring.

Buffy stood there for a few moments, watching as they all fidgeted, unsure what to say or do. Finally Spike looked at her, his expression softening a bit. "I'm going for a walk."

She nodded, watching as he walked past her and headed out the front door. She turned back to the girl's in front of her. They were staring at her, waiting for her to tell her Spike had been exaggerating and that he was overreacting. She didn't. "He's right, you know." She said, beginning to pace in front of them. Her eyes now held the same cold glint his had moments before. "You have no idea what you're up against."

"But Buffy…"

"Shut up, Kennedy." Buffy said sharply, not even casting a glance at the girl. "You're all ignorant and weak, so I don't want to hear you arguing over who's better."

"We didn't mean to…" Molly mumbled under her breath.

"I don't care." The Slayer snapped. "None of you have any right to belittle each other. Joey was the only one of this pathetic group I haven't… _hadn't_ heard singling out someone else and acting like she was better than them. She was the only one who didn't think she was better than anyone else. And you know what? She was five." She stared at them for a moment, letting this sink in. "She was five and she knew more about having faith in others than any of you. None of you have the power to stop this thing on your own, but together you have a slight chance. Now go to bed, we're doubling your training starting tomorrow."

-----

Spike kept his hands deep in his pockets as he walked, his eyes fixed on the ground. It seemed extremely quiet now that he was alone. Patroling regularly with large groups of teenage girls had made him forget why he loved walking alone at night.

For that very reason: he was alone.

He swallowed as he stopped walking, his eyes slowly rising to look at the doors of the crypt. His eyes narrowed and he could feel a slight twinge behind them. Swallowing once more, he grabbed the handles and swung both doors open.

There had been very few times in his undead life when blood had made his stomach lurch. This was one of them.

He narrowed his eyes wand shuffled into the structure. He could feel his shoes sticking to the bloodied floor slightly as he walked. He stopped in the middle of the crypt, looking down at the tattered remains of his jacket. He shook his head and snorted, kicking at it.

"Spike?"

The vampire turned to the door quickly. "Buffy."

The Slayer swallowed, shoving her hands in her coat pockets as she walked hesitantly towards him. "Giles just got back."

"Oh…" He said quietly, dropping his gaze once more.

"Don't blame yourself." She said, standing besides him, her eyes drifting around.

"I shouldn't have left her here." He muttered.

"You didn't have a choice." She said reassuringly.

"Maybe not." He sniffled. "But I…" He stopped midsentence, his eyes going wide.

"Spike? What's wrong?"

He ignored her, looking around, he sniffed again, inhaling deeply.

"Spike, what are you…"

"It's not human."

"What?" She questioned, looking puzzled.

He turned to face her, a wide grin spreading across his face. "The blood, Slayer. The blood and the… the little itty bitty pieces! They're not human!!"

"So that means…"

"She's alive, Slayer. They didn't kill 'er, they _took_ 'er!"

 "You're sure?"

"A hundred and twenty percent. I can smell it. It's them bloody Bringers." He said, still grinning.

A smile crept slowly to the Slayer's face.

TBC…

A/N: I'm a lazy bum. That's why this took so long. I'm sorry. I want reviews!! *gnaws on you*


	6. Sing With Me

"Still nothing?" Willow asked, peering hopefully over the top of her laptop. The group seated around the dining room table shook their heads glumly. The redhead sighed dismissively and returned her focus to the screen.

"We'll find something." Buffy said in a confident voice, but deep down she was beginning to loose hope. It had been three days since Joey had gone missing and they had been researching every moment they had, Spike and Buffy rotating training sessions with the SIT's. As Buffy had promised, the SIT's were now doing well more than twice the training they had been before, spending almost all their waking moments in the basement with Spike or in the backyard with Buffy.

"Buff, I don't think we're going to find anything in these, we've been through 'em at least three times." Xander said, closing the book he had been flipping through.

"We've got to keep looking, Xander. If there's anything we missed, anything at all…"

"Buffy?"

The Slayer turned in her seat. Spike was standing in the doorway. "Yeah?"

"Girls are getting' fussy, not concentratin'." He said. "It's getting' a bit late, maybe we should call it quits for the night, 'ey?"

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Tell them to get to bed." She then gave Spike an odd look. "What happened to your shirt?"

He looked down and smirked a bit at the multiple holes in his shirt. "Teachin' a couple of the girls 'ow to use the crossbows." He poked a finger through one of the holes. "Don't have very good aim."

"Just try not to get yourself dusted." Buffy said, smiling for what seemed to be the first time in weeks.

He nodded and turned, heading back towards the basement.

"Uh, Spike?"

He turned back around. "Yeah Nibblet?"

"There's an arrow in your back." She said, an odd look on her face.

Spike looked back over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a thin bolt sticking out of his lower back. He reached back, grabbed it, and yanked it out, wincing. "Thought I got 'em all…" He muttered, walking off.

Anya and Willow exchanged odd looks.

-----

"Hold still, would you?" Buffy said, pouring some more rubbing alcohol onto a small cloth.

"Ow." Spike hissed, cringing as she pressed the cloth to one of the numerous tiny holes in his back.

"You're back looks like a pin cushion." She chastised, moving on to a different wound.

"Yeah, well, don't turn your back on a line of nine girls with loaded crossbows." He said, wincing again. He shifted in his seat at the foot of the Slayer's bed, feeling uncomfortable. It felt like there were tons of tiny drops of acid burning on his chest and back, slowly eating away at his flesh. The small yet numerous wounds hadn't been bothering him all that badly until Buffy had decided they need disinfecting.

"Hand me those bandages." She said, holding her arm around to him. She was seated behind him, her legs crossed as she tended to the wounds. He grabbed the bandages he had set in his lap and handed them back to her.

"You guys find anything new?" He asked.

"Nope." Buffy answered, placing small pieces of gauze on his back. "Willow tried to do a general locator spell, but we couldn't find anything. She thinks that the First has brightened up a bit and done some type of magical barrier to keep us from finding it so easily."

"Still no idea why it took the girl 'stead of killin' 'er?"

"Uh-uh." She replied, leaning over and setting the first aid items on the stand beside her bed. Sensing that she was satisfied with the state of his injuries, he stood, walking over to the chair where he had discarded a new and far less holey shirt and pulled it back over his head.

"Giles doesn't think it has anything to do with how young she is, does he?" Spike questioned, sitting back down.

She shrugged. "He said that the Council uses help from some powerful Wizards to detect the Potentials. He said Slayers are all endowed with the same mystical power and that it becomes more prominent as they become older. The Wizards can detect this mystical power, and that's how they find them."

"And that's why the girls are all around Dawn's age." Spike said. "Their power's just becoming evident."

"Right." Buffy confirmed. "But Joey was different. Giles said that she was thought to be a Potential right around her third birthday. The Council had insisted there was some mistake, but the Wizards insisted that the girl was emitting just as much mystical energy as the other girls, even though she was so young."

"But they don't know why?"

Buffy shook her head. "She seemed like a normal little girl, so they wrote it off as some fluke. They stuck her in the care of multiple Watchers, but most felt like it was nothing but a babysitting job, so they quit. She bounced back and forth between a few and the latest one was killed a few days before Giles go to her."

Spike shook his head. "What about her parents?"

Buffy shrugged once more. "Giles didn't say, but I got the feeling that they weren't really in the picture anymore…" Spike looked down a bit. Buffy sighed. "It's late. We should get some sleep."

Spike nodded, climbing to his feet.

"Willow's going to try to pull off a more powerful locator spell tomorrow." Buffy assured him. "We'll get her back."

He gave her the faintest smile, lying down on the floor. "I know." He said, placing his elbow on his pillow and propping his head on his hand. He had been sleeping on her bedroom floor ever since the others had gotten back. The fact was that there just wasn't enough space in the house. 

There were girls in the basement, the living room, Dawn's room, Willow's room, not to mention the fact that Xander and Giles were alternating between the floor and the couch in the living room. Anya had been going back to Xander's apartment nightly and always came back assuring everyone that 'Andrew had neither broken, stolen, or used any of Xander's possessions to summon hideous demons that would viciously maim and kill each and every one of them, nor had he acquired any pet bunnies.'

Buffy smiled back., trying to hide the uncertainty she felt. Reaching over, she flicked of the light. "G'night, Spike."

"'night pet."

-----

Spike stirred slightly, the sound of something moving across the room drawing him form his rather peaceful slumber. It amazed him how easily he could sleep when he was in the same room with Buffy. He cracked open one eye, pushing the blanket he had had pulled over his head out of the way. After a few moments, he racked the sounds up as either a dream or his unstable mind and let himself drift back to sleep.

"_Spike_."

His eyes shot open. **That** had not been his mind. He sat up, tossing the blankets aside. He looked around, his vampiric eyes unable to see anything suspicious in the dark room. He looked up at Buffy. She was still sound asleep, her small body wrapped snuggly in a thick comforter. He could hear her nearly silent snores, but other than that, the room was completely silent.

"I'm bloody well insane…" He muttered, turning away.

"You are?"

Spike jumped backwards in surprise, hitting his head harshly on the windowsill. His eyes went wide. "Joey?"

"Are you okay?" She asked, giving him and odd look. She was standing about a foot in front of him, his t-shirt draping down to her ankles and her messy brown hair hanging about her face.

"Uh… yeah, kitten." He said, still staring at her curiously. Something didn't make sense.

"I missed you." She said, smiling broadly. "So I came back."

"Back? You're…y-yeah, you're back." He mumbled, arcing an eyebrow at her. "H-how'd you get 'ere?"

"Walked."

"Oh." He said dumbly. He looked back up at Buffy. She was still sound asleep. When he looked back down, Joey was taking a seat beside him on the floor.

"Can we play a game?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Uh…"

"How 'bout hide and seek." She offered, grinning. "I know a good hiding spot, but it's kinda far away."

He just stared at her.

"I can hide in that crypt again." She suggested. "No one will _ever_ find me."

He swallowed, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"You gonna play with me?"

He shifted, scooting away from her a bit. "I don't think that's such a good idea, pet."

"It wasn't such a bad idea before, was it?" She asked, her smile fading. "You didn't mind letting me hide there the other night."

"Joey, hun… I just…"

"You're pathetic." She snapped, standing. She was glaring at him now, pointing accusingly. "You're the reason they got me!"

Spike's eyes widened, but he didn't speak. He cast another sidelong glance at Buffy, but she was still sleeping soundly. He looked back up at Joey, slinking back further against the wall.

A cruel grin spread across her face and she began to stalk slowly towards him. "Come on, Spike. Let's play. Just me and you _again_." She said jovially, watching as he looked back up at the Slayer. "Oh, come on, Spike. Do you depend on her for _everything_? My God, you really are pathetic."

"Stay away from me." He growled halfheartedly, now backed into the corner between the wall and the nightstand.

"Do you like puppets, Spike?" The girl asked sweetly. Spike noticed a thin pink gash that ran from her eyebrow down over her right eye. "I like puppets." She said, grinning again as she pulled him from his thoughts. She crouched down in front of him, leaning forward so her nose was mere inches from his. "Do you want to sing with me, Spike?"

His eyes went wide and his stomach lurched. There was something really wrong here…

Joey continued to grin as she stood up. She hummed lightly, her green eyes watching him gleefully.

Spike knew that song. He knew it all too well. His eyes began to water. "It's you…. you're the First…"

The First's only response was to smile a little wider and go from humming to singing, the words emitting from her mouth with icy clarity.

Spike screamed.

-----

"Spike! **Spike**!" Buffy yelled the vampire's name fervently as she tried to keep him still. She had woken to the sound of his screams to find him hunched in the corner, clawing at the wall and crying hysterically.

"I can't do it again! Don't let it make me do it again!" He wailed piteously, trying frantically to get out of the Slayer's clutches.

"Who, Spike?!" She demanded, trying to pin him on the ground. "Stop fighting and tell me what happened.

He didn't seem to hear. His only goal seemed to be to break free and get the hell out of here.

"Spike, stop!" She demanded. In one forceful move, she grabbed both of his wrists and held them firmly in one hand, pulling his body back down to the ground forcibly as he tried to get up and run. She held him there, both of them sitting on the ground, his back to her as she held both his arms against his back.

"Please…I don't wanna do it again…." He mumbled, his body shaking violently as he gave up the fight, his shoulders going slack. "Oh God…"

Hoping that he wouldn't try to run again, she tentatively released his arms. He didn't run, he merely brought his hands up to his face and began to cry even harder.

"Not again, Spike…" Buffy muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. He fell backwards slightly, his head resting on her shoulder. "I'm not gonna let anything happen, Spike." She assured him, running one hand through his hair.

"It was singing that song again." He choked.

"The First?"

He nodded, closing his eyes and burying his face further into her shoulder. "I don't want to kill anybody…"

"You won't." She said gently, now awkwardly hugging the vampire in an attempt to calm him.

"I was wrong." He sniffed, reopening his eyes.

"About what?" She asked gently.

He pulled away from her, looking at her with red eyes. "She's dead, Buffy. She's dead."

TBC…

A/N: I'm so mean, yes yes. Feel free to hate me. XD Har. I'm sorry, really am, but I'm somewhat of a dramaqueen, so I'm kinda big on overdoing stuff, such as sad, cry-ish scenes and, as noted in the first few chaps, the overly cute and fluffy scenes!! But I swear on my life, this _will_ have a good outcome. It'll stop being all morbid and depressing. Promise. Just keep me happy by reviewing. :)


	7. Dead or Alive?

"Here." Buffy said quietly, handing a coffee mug to the vampire sitting on the couch.

"Thanks…" Spike muttered halfheartedly, sipping at it. He drew back a bit and looked down into it.

"It's hot chocolate," Buffy informed him. "Not blood…"

He gave her a small smile and returned his attention to the drink.

"So what happened, exactly?" Xander questioned, his arms crossed over his chest.

Buffy looked up at him and Willow. They were standing a few feet away, looking impatient. "Spike saw…The First. It was here again, talking to him…" She paused, looking over at him. "Singing to him…"

"The trigger?" Willow questioned, sounding worried.

Spike nodded, his eyes locked on the ground.

"That's not all." Buffy said, drawing her friends' eyes away from the vampire and back to her. She swallowed. "He said it looked like Joey." 

"Joey?" Willow whimpered. "But that means…"

"…she's dead." Xander finished. "But I thought you guys said-"

"We were wrong." Buffy cut in. "There was nothing we could have done."

Willow looked stricken. "God, Buffy. That's so…"

"I know." The Slayer said sullenly, looking down. "Look, it's late. We should all get back to bed." She said, standing. "There's nothing else we can do right now."

"Shouldn't we call Giles and tell him?" Willow asked. Giles had gone over to stay at Xander's with Anya and Andrew, needing some time away from the mob of girls.

"We'll call in the morning. There's no sense in waking him. The First is gone now, and I don't think it's coming back for awhile." Buffy said.

Willow and Xander looked at each other briefly, then nodded.

"Good." Buffy said quietly. "Now try to get some sleep, we have a lot to do tomorrow."

"'night, Buff." Xander said, reclaiming is bed on the couch as Spike stood and made his way towards the kitchen.

"Goodnight." Buffy muttered, walking after Spike as Willow made her way back upstairs. She walked into the kitchen. Spike was standing over the sink, staring blankly at the counter. "You okay?"

"Don't know anymore…" He mumbled, closing his eyes. "Why can't that thing leave me the hell alone?"

"I dunno." She said honestly, walking towards him. "But you're not the only one it's playing at."

"I'm the only one it's usin' to kill people." He said simply.

Buffy swallowed. "We won't let it happen again, Spike."

"You don't know what I can do, Buffy. You have no idea what I'm capable of…"

"You're capable of a lot of things, Spike. And yes, killing is one of them." She said honestly. "But you're strong. And you'll fight it." She took a step closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "And you'll win."

He looked at her, his eyes still red from crying. "Thank you…"

The Slayer nodded, dropping her arm back down. "We'll kill this thing. After all it's done, everyone it's killed…" She saw Spike flinch.

"I can't believe she's dead, Buffy." He muttered, looking away once more. "I swear to God, I knew she was alive, I just knew it."

"Spike, it's not…"

"I shouldn't have left her there. It's my fault they got her, if I had just…"

"Spike, stop." She said firmly, narrowing her eyes at him. "It told you this, didn't it?"

He just stared at her.

"Spike, listen to me. It's messing with you, trying to break you down. It wasn't your fault, alright? It wasn't. Don't play into the First's hands…"

-----

And eerie silence had fallen over the Summer's household. The Scoobies were in full research mode, trying desperately to string the minimal information they had on the First together. The SIT's had grown sullen since they had learned that Joey was truly dead, barely speaking to one another as they continued to train relentlessly. Spike was almost completely silent, speaking only to Buffy when he needed to. He had also insisted on being chained in the basement at night once more, despite Buffy's protests that it wasn't necessary. This meant that the girls who had been occupying the basement at night were now scattered in the living room and Buffy's room.

"Anything?" Buffy asked, walking into the living room. No one answered, and by the looks on their faces, one could assume that they had found far less than nothing. She swallowed. Willow was sitting at the table with her computer, Xander, Giles, and Anya were on the couch, Dawn was sitting in a chair, and Andrew was on the floor, leaning against the wall. They all had books and old manuscripts in their laps, but nothing was helping. They couldn't seem to find anything on The First.

"Buffy?"

The Slayer turned. Spike was standing behind her, holding out an old piece of paper. He had been up in her room researching, separate from the others. "What is it?" She questioned, tentatively taking the paper from him.

"Not much." He said. "Nothing very useful, anyway…"

"What's it say?" She asked, squinting at the odd writing.

"It's an old demon language." Spike explained. "Seen a lot of it in Prague. Old demon cult there spoke it. Couldn't get very far around there without knowin' it. Forgot I had this. Got it from some nast Kechirik demons…" He paused, watching as she arced an eyebrow at him. "It says that the First is evil in its purest form, that it overcame its non-evil counterpart, then rambles on about how to boil a chicken. I think the buggers were usin' it as a page in a recipe book."

"So, the key to killing the First is KFC?" Xander questioned, standing. "I'm in!"

"Me too." Andrew announced.

"Me three." Anya added.

"Dear Lord. The world is at stake and you three are worried about fried chicken?" Giles barked, slamming the book he had been reading shut.

"Yes." Anya said simply. Everyone stared at her. She rocked back on her heals. "Besides, it's been a long day. I'm sure everyone's hungry."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Don't be gone long, and don't eat all the biscuits before you get back this time!" he added as they went out the door, eager to stop researching. They had been at it all day.

"So what now?" Dawn said, looking around at the remaining four people in the room. "I mean, that's all have. We know the First is pure evil… and how to boil a chicken." 

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "We'll just have to…"

"Uhm, guys." Willow was staring at her laptop, her eyes wide. "Look at this."

The others crossed the room quickly, crouching behind the redhead to get a better view of the screen. It didn't work so well.

"What is it?" Buffy questioned, shoving Dawn a bit to get a better look.

"Joey." Willow said, scrolling further down the page. A picture of the girl's face came up. "Giles, what happened to her parents?"

"Erm, I'm not sure, exactly." He said, standing and removing his glasses. "I was merely informed that they were no longer involved with the girl."

Willow narrowed her eyes, reading quickly over the text on the page. "She had a sister…" She muttered. "A twin… Her name was Jordan."

"What happened to her?" Dawn asked, trying to read over the redhead's shoulder.

"She died." Willow said, looking shaken. "On her first birthday. Her parents were charged with the murder. Both were sentenced to life terms, but they disappeared from custody two days before their trial. Their bodies were found a week later in a motel…"

"They're dead?" Buffy questioned.

Willow nodded. "Joey was put into foster care. She was in the care of five different people by her third birthday...."

"That's when the council gained custody of her." Giles said.

Willow continued to scroll down the page, her eyes scanning back and forth. She let out a short gasp.

"What is it?" Dawn questioned.

"Pictures." Willow said grimly. "Of her sister… the night she was murdered…"

Buffy and Dawn shook their heads, walking away. This wasn't helping them any. It was just making them feel extremely guilty about Joey's short life.

"Wait. Go back up." Spike said, sitting down besides Willow.

She gave him an odd look, then obliged, scrolling back up to the pictures. She made a face, looking up at Giles as Spike leaned towards the screen.

"Can you make it bigger?"

Willow stared at him. "What?"

"Just do it, Red." He said, pointing at the screen. "That one."

She made a face, then double clicked the bloody picture.

Spike's eyes went wide. "That's her…"

"What?" Willow questioned, looking at him oddly.

"Look." He said, pointing to the girls face. "Across her eye."

"That cut?"

Spike nodded. "Deep enough to leave a scar?"

"Judging by the amount of blood oozing from it, I'd say yes."

"That wasn't Joey I saw." Spike said firmly, standing. "It was her."

Buffy looked from him to the computer, then back to him. She narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"There was a scar, Buffy. There was a scar running down her face. Joey didn't have that. I thought… I thought it might have been something the Bringer's had done to her before they killed her, but it wasn't." He said. "That wasn't Joey, it was _Jordan_."

"But why would the First take her form?" Buffy questioned, looking to Giles. "We didn't even know her."

Giles sighed heavily. "I'm not sure. Perhaps it was because…"

"She's not dead." Spike said abruptly. They all looked at him. "The First was taking Jordan's form, but it was acting like Joey, telling me that I left her in that crypt. It wanted me to think she was dead."

"That's ingenious." Giles muttered. The rest of the group stared at him incredulously. "Well it is."

"But why would it keep her alive?" Dawn questioned, looking at the ex-watcher. "What's the First going to do with a five year old girl?"

"Use her as bait." Buffy said simply, looking around at the group. "It knows we'll come for her."

 Spike was staring at her now, his jaw set.

"We need to find them." Buffy said firmly. "Willow, how lone until you can try that spell?"

"A day….two tops." The Redhead said. "But Buffy, if it's using her as bait, then it's waiting for you. You can't just charge in there and expect to get her out."

"No. We'll be ambushed. I know that." The Slayer said. "I'm guessing Bringers, lots of them. The First itself can't hurt us because it can't physically touch us, but we'll have to…"

"Wait." Spike said, narrowing his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Sure? Sure about what?" Buffy asked, looking confused.

"That it can't touch us."

"Positive." Buffy said.

"The First can't take a corporeal form." Giles said. "It's simply a powerful, evil mystically energy that has been reborn into the world countless times. It's always been in existence, but it…"

"She touched me." Spike said, a contemplative look on his face. "Before you woke up, Buffy. She touched my face and told me it was my fault. Right before she disappeared…"

There was a silence. 

TBC…

A/N: Yep. I can't make up my mind, apparently. Lol. Nah, I'm kidding. This is the **last** time I change whether Joey is dead or alive, promise. So, apparently she's alive, kiddies! Yay! And hooray for major plot changes and unexpected twists!! I don't like how this chapter turned out at all, but I needed to get the information in there. I know exactly what I'm doing with this story, but I'm not quite good at putting it into words. Bah. Any suggestions? Review and let me know, or imply let me know what you think…


	8. Good for Something

"Buffy, you're not looking at this rationally. If Joey _is_ alive, then why would the First try to convince Spike she was dead?"

"I don't know, Giles. But why else would it not kill her? I mean, what if it expected us to find out she was alive? Then she would be the perfect bait to lure us in there." Buffy said, looking up at the watcher pacing in front of her couch.

"Well, erm… I have reason to believe that _perhaps_, and I'm not saying I'm one-hundred percent correct on this one, but perhaps the First would, well, bleed her." He said, stopping his pacing and standing still. "Much like it did Spike…"

"But, that would mean…"

"More turok-ahns." He said. "According to Andrew, the seal can be used as many times as need be in order to resurrect the creatures, as long as a new person's blood is used each time.Using Joey… well, that would be a moral blow, but it wouldn't _kill_ her."

"So how do you know that's what it's doing?"

"I don't, but if you had a choice between eyeless bringers and super vamps, which would you choose? Besides, according to Willow, there have been an unusually high number of disappearances around town recently." Giles sighed, watching as Buffy stared hatefully at the floor. "Buffy, are you sure you're going to be all right while we're gone?"

"It's only for three days." She muttered, looking back up at him. "I'll live."

Giles sighed once more, looking over his shoulder as Xander walked down the stairs, his arms full. "Is that the last of it?"

"Hope so." Xander replied. "At the rate we're going, we're going to have more bags than people."

 "Is everyone outside?" Giles questioned, turning back to Anya, who had just walked back in the front door.

"Besides me, you, and Willow, yes." She replied.

"Coming." Willow called, bounding down the stairs. "Just had to finish packing a few things."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Be careful." He muttered to Buffy, walking out the door.

"You too!" Buffy called back, smirking a bit.

"Call if anything comes up, okay?" Willow said, smiling at her friend.

"I will, and same goes for you." Buffy replied, still seated on the couch.

-----

"What was that all about?" Spike questioned, looking up from the Slayer's bed as she walked into the room. He was sitting cross-legged in the center of it, Willow's computer open in front of him.

"Dawn's hogging the bathroom." Buffy said simply, handing him a coffee mug full of blood. "Willow let you borrow that?"

"Yeah." He answered, taking the mug gratefully from her. "Said it would do us more good if we actually used it then let it sit while she was gone."

Buffy nodded, taking a seat on the end of the bed. "You find anything?"

He snorted. "You kidding? I don't know what the bloody hell I'm doing with this thing."

Buffy smiled a bit. "Here, let me see."

He shrugged, sliding the computer from his lap and across the bed towards her. She slid back so that she was sitting sideways and he could still see the screen. "Look, the first thing you gotta do is open a search engine like Google, Dogpile, Mamma, or Yahoo…"

Spike quirked an eyebrow at her. "You're telling me they couldn't come up with better names?"

She just shook her head, then pointed at the screen. "See this little box? You just click it and type in whatever you're looking for."

"That how Willow got all that stuff 'bout Joey?"

"Probably." Buffy said, typing in the girl's full name. A list of sights came up, consisting mostly of old news articles. She clicked the first one, bringing up a different site than Willow had accessed. It held the same information, but came accompanied with different pictures.

"That the two of them?" Spike asked, leaning forward and looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah…" Buffy muttered, scrolling down. She clicked the picture and it brought up a number of others, all consisting of the two tiny twin girls. Some were just the two of them, but others contained their parents as well, holding them and grinning proudly.

"You really think they killed her?" Spike asked, looking at the pictures as they went by. "They seem so…"

"Happy." Buffy finished for him. She swallowed, then closed the window. "That's not going to do us much good…"

"Guess not…" Spike muttered in agreement.

"Maybe we should patrol tonight, see if we can find anything new around town. Haven't been able to do that properly with all the girls around." She said, closing the laptop.

Spike nodded. "Sounds good, but what about Dawn?"

"Andrew will be here with her. Worse comes to worse she can use him as a distraction while she gets away."

Spike chuckled a bit. "I thought you were supposed to be protecting the helpless, not throwing them to the baddies to save your hide."

Buffy smiled. "I gave him a weapon."

Spike raised his eyebrows in question.

"A cross…"

"Oh, well, that'll be the difference between life and death for the boy." The vampire said, smirking. "Very noble of you."

"I try." She said.

"So, what do we do 'til sunset?" He questioned.

"I don't know about you, but as soon as Dawn gets out of the bathroom I'm taking a _long_ bath."

Spike laughed a bit. "Think I'll leave you to your own on that one." He said, standing. "You hungry?"

"No thanks." Buffy said, watching as he made his way towards the door.

"More for me and Dawn, then." He said.

"Wait. What are you making?"

He turned, smirking a bit at her. "Those chicken wings I hid in the back of the freezer. I figured if I made 'em when everyone was around I'd get like, two."

She smiled. "Probably."

"So you want some?"

"A couple."

He smiled, nodded, and walked back down the hall.

-----

"Dawn, if _anything_ happens, call me. I have my phone and Spike has yours, just in case something happens and you can't get through to one of them, alright?"

"Buffy, it's not like I haven't stayed home while you've gone patrolling before." Dawn stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, and I'll be here to keep and eye on her." Andrew said, nodding.

Buffy and Spike stared at him for a moment. "And you have permission to tie him up if he gets too annoying." Buffy added.

"Check." Dawn said.

"Hey." Andrew whined.

"Be careful, Bit." Spike said, following Buffy out the door.

"I will." She said.

"Me too!" Andrew called. Dawn stared at him. "So, uhm, there's this Star Trek marathon on TV tonight so maybe we could…"

"I'm going to finish my homework." Dawn said, walking past him and upstairs.

"O-Okay then."

-----

"So, any special plans?"

"What?" Buffy questioned, giving Spike an odd look.

"Plans. Are we going anywhere specific or are we just doing your run-of-the-mill cemetery walkthrough?" Spike asked.

"Not really." Buffy mumbled, twirling a stake in her hands. "I mean, I can't think of any resident demons that I haven't pummeled for information yet. You?"

"My sources are dry." He said. "So, cemeteries then?"

"Looks like."

Spike sighed. "Away we go then."

Buffy nodded as they walked in the direction of the nearest cemetery. "I wonder how Giles and the others are holding up."

"Well, seeing as they're in the desert, I'm guessing they don't have to worry about listening to the girls fighting over the bathroom." He said matter-of-factly.

Buffy smirked.

-----

"What are you looking for?" Andrew asked, watching as Dawn continued to type fervently at Willow's laptop.

"Anything I can find on the First." She said simply.

"But I thought Willow already looked on there?"

"She did. But it's not like she could look at _every_ page on the internet. She had to of missed something."

"Want me to help?"

She looked up over the top of the laptop. Andrew was sitting on the couch opposite her, twiddling his fingers. "Whatever."

"Cool." He said, a bit to excited at being allowed to actually do something. "So, like, what exactly are we looking for."

"Anything." She said, not looking at him. "Ways to kill it, what it is, where it came from… anything."

"You know, those public internet search browsers aren't really all that good. I know a way to compile search results so that all the URL's are displayed in this really cool…"

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked incredulously.

"Uhm, can I see?" He asked, pointing at the laptop.

She sighed. "Guess you can't hurt it." She muttered, sliding over so he could get at it.

"Thanks." He said, taking over the keyboard. "You know, I offered to help a long time ago but no one really believes me when I say I wanna do something good." He said as his fingers typed furiously at the keys.

"Maybe it's because you killed your best friend." Dawn suggested.

Andrew swallowed. "It wasn't my fault, The First was brainwashing me…"

"Whatever." She grumbled, leaning back against the couch. "What are you doing, anyway?"

"Well, a lot of search engines only show you sites that get lots of hits, so I'm reconfiguring one to display everything it finds instead of just the more popular stuff. I can also set it to filter out anything that doesn't contain the words 'evil', 'mystic', and 'ancient'. That should narrow the search down a lot."

"You know, I didn't think it was possible, but I think you know more about computers than Willow." Dawn said, sitting up. "So you're like, reprogramming Yahoo?"

"Pretty much." He said. "I mean, It's slightly illegal and leads to the site being crashed for about two days, but it's not exactly _evil_, right?" He questioned, looking at her.

She smiled.

----- 

"Down there. With the redhead. See 'im?"

Buffy looked down from the balcony to the far corner of the Bronze. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm on it."

"What some help?" He asked, watching as she made her way to the lower level of the club.

"If you're up for dusting one measly fledgling." She called over her shoulder, smirking. They had been all over town and hadn't come across a single vampire or demon. Buffy had suggested the Bronze as a last ditch effort to kill _something_, and it had been a good call. They had dusted three vamps in the alley behind the building and Spike had just pointed out another.

He leaned on the rail and watched as she made her way through the crowd, pulling a poolstick from some guy's hand as she walked past. He protested, but she continued to walk past until she reached her target. It was all over in a few seconds. She had pulled the girl the vampire had been flirting with away and ran the pool stick through his heart, turning him to dust. Walking back, she handed the poolstick back t it's owner and looked up at him. He went back down the stairs and met her at the door.

"Well, wasn't that a difficult night." She said sarcastically. "I don't know about you, but I was _really_ in the mood to kill something."

"You dusted two vamps, luv." He pointed out.

"Something more challenging." She offered. "Besides, the one like, tripped and fell on a two by four when he tried to run, I don't think that counts as…" She stopped, her phone ringing loudly in her pocket. She pulled it out quickly. "Dawn? What's wrong?"

Spike watched, concern etched on his face as he watched her.

"Right. Yeah, we'll be there in a little bit. No, we're coming now. Bye." She hung it up, putting it back in her pocket.

"She alright?" Spike questioned.

"They found something." Buffy said, beginning to walk a bit faster than she had been before. "Her and Andrew were screwing around on the computer and they found some stuff on The First."

"New stuff?"

"That's what she said." Buffy told him.

-----

"Look at this." Dawn said, laying out the numerous papers her and Andrew had printed on the dining room table. There were numerous pictures accompanied by small articles, along with another small stack of papers containing information on The First. "Andrew hacked into Yahoo's main system and reprogrammed it to look for exactly what we were looking for."

Buffy turned to the blonde, raising an eyebrow at him. "What? It's not like I do it all the time." He lied.

"Anyway, we pulled up this information." She said, handing her sister the separate stack of papers. Spike leaned over her shoulder, reading the paragraph Dawn had pointed to.

"The First Evil has an equal counterpart…" Buffy read outloud. "So that's what, like a First Good?"

"Something like that." Dawn said. "Keep reading."

Buffy returned her eyes to the paper, her eyes scanning over the words. "The First's are reincarnated into every generation. Each bares the ability to destroy the other, but the First Evil is generally more powerful and extinguishes its counterpart long before it can pose a threat."

"So it kills the good one?" Spike questioned.

"No." Andrew said, taking the papers from Buffy and flipping through them. "Killing one would result in the death of the other. It's basically just hides the Good somewhere where it'll never be released."

"And you guys found all this in the three hours we were gone?" Buffy questioned. "Willow's been looking for weeks!"

"I told you I could help if you just gave me a chance." Andrew said stubbornly. "Anyways, we cross checked some things, and then these pairs of names started popping up."

"These." Dawn said, pointing to the pictures on the table. Buffy and Spike walked over, getting a better look. 

"They're all a bunch of babies." Buffy pointed out.

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, but look." She lifted up one of the pictures, revealing the mutilated body of another child. "They're all twins, and one always dies. They all have the same birthday, and the younger of the two always dies a week after their first birthday." She handed her sister a list of names and dates. "And eventually, the second one goes missing."

Buffy's eyes fluttered over the list. There must have been hundreds of names compiled. She flipped back to the last page, and sure enough…

"Joey and Jordan." Buffy and Spike muttered in unison, reading the last names on the list.

TBC…

A/N: Ack. So I'm pretty sure you figured out where I'm going with this. But yet again, I really don't like how the chapter turned out. I tried to lighten it up a bit, but I think that just resulted in me killing the story a bit. Ack. Anyways, I suck at putting what I want to happen into words, but you get the idea. And no, I have no clue if it's possible to do whatever I had Andrew do with hacking into Yahoo, it was just stuck in there to make the story work. :P Let me know whatchu think.


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